Extending Oral Health Care Services to Underserved Children through a School–Based Collaboration: Part 2 – The Student Experience

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of dental hygiene students providing services to unserved and underserved children in a school-based collaboration between a dental school, school district and Extended Care Permit I (ECP-I) dental hygienist in Kansas.

Methods: Following comprehensive preventive oral health care services to children in 4 schools supervised by an ECP-I dental hygienist, 26 senior dental hygiene students enrolled in the dental hygiene program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City submitted rotation data records and self-reflection journals describing the experience. Using the constant comparative method, 3 faculty researchers unitized the data by identifying key themes.

Results: Data from student reflections was aggregated into 5 categories: skill development (46%), awareness (19%), type of experience (15%), description of environment/setting (13%) and role model (7%).

Conclusion: Participation in well-designed service learning programs is rewarding for students providing the services and works toward developing the skills needed to competently care for the changing needs of society. New models of oral health care and expanded roles for dental hygienists are providing greater access to preventive oral health care in Kansas.

This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Professional Education and Development: Evaluate the extent to which current dental hygiene curricula prepare dental hygienists to meet the increasingly complex oral health needs of the public.